It's just as good as the real thing

February 10, 2010

This week I reached out for a cup of new Light Dulce de Leche ice cream, part of the BRight Choices line of fat-free, reduced-fat, no-sugar-added or dairy-free (I'm getting depressed) ice creams and treats from Baskin-Robbins, the world's biggest dessert cart, with 5,800 shops.

Normally, I run through the jungle from anything that brags about being low-fat, sugar-free or any of that other deprivation nonsense. Especially when there's a big tub of full-bore Chocolate Fudge ice cream sitting two flavors over.

But let's give it a shot. It's not like we're sticking to our diet this year, anyway. Summer is still a long way off.

Here's the blueprint: a big ol' scoop of Light (meaning lower-fat) Dulce de Leche ice cream with a swirl of gooey, sticky sauce. "Dulce de leche" is Spanish, and it roughly translates to "milk candy." It's sweet, and I'm sweet on it.

Total calories: 230 (for a 4-ounce cup). Fat grams: 7. Dietary fiber: 1 gram. Carbs: 37 grams. Manufacturer's suggested retail price: $2.05. But between now and April 4, a second scoop is only 99 cents. How about if we each get a scoop? I'll buy the second one.

Light Dulce de Leche has about half the fat and 20 percent fewer calories than Baskin-Robbins' regular ice cream. Ah, but does it have half the flavor and 20 percent less guilty pleasure, too? This I gotta taste. Baskin-Robbins swears that if I close my eyes, I won't be able to tell its BRight Choices ice creams from its regular ice creams.

I hate ... absolutely hate ... to admit this, but my dish of Light Dulce de Leche tasted like real, legit, heavy-duty ice cream. Maybe if there were a dish of French Vanilla with hot fudge and walnuts next to it, I could tell the difference. But one on one, I was good with the Dulce de Leche. It was smooth and creamy and really sweet — and not phony, sugar-free sweet, either.

BRight Choices ice creams are also a clever way of cutting calories or fat in sundaes and shakes. Naturally, I see this as an excuse to order a large shake instead of a regular. Then I wonder why I'm not losing weight. You should have seen me with those Snackwells cookies.

If Baskin-Robbins ever makes a low-fat version of its German Chocolate Cake ice cream (my all-time favorite — this month), it's curtains for me. I'll be on "The Biggest Loser" before Conan O'Brien pops up on Fox.

Baskin-Robbins also is introducing Premium Churned Reduced Fat No Sugar Added Mocha Blackberry Chip ice cream. I would have ordered that, but the store closed before I could get it all out. If it takes more than four words to order an ice-cream cone ... just give me vanilla.

The other addition to the BRight Choices menu is Vanilla Pomegranate Parfait frozen yogurt. I'm seeing a lot of pomegranate stuff in supermarkets and restaurants lately. It's either good for you, delicious or pomegranate has hired Andy Dick's publicist.

When Ken Hoffman got his driver's license, he drove straight to McDonald's. He reviews fast food for the Houston Chronicle.